New stadium, league buoy hopes at Marist

Sunday

Aug 30, 2009 at 2:00 AMAug 30, 2009 at 5:16 PM

POUGHKEEPSIE — The Marist College football program does not have the pedigree of its Hudson River neighbor, West Point, but it has been around for nearly a half-century with two national title-game appearances and four league titles to its credit.

Ken McMillan

POUGHKEEPSIE — The Marist College football program does not have the pedigree of its Hudson River neighbor, West Point, but it has been around for nearly a half-century with two national title-game appearances and four league titles to its credit.

The program has grown from a stay-at-home club status at its origin in 1965 to a diverse squad with athletes representing 12 states that will play a national schedule for the first time in 2009.

"I feel the program is in the best place it's been in its history," said Jim Parady, heading into his 18th season as head coach with a career mark of 89-84-1. "The new league gives us a national conference and eight conference games. We are playing in a brand-new facility. This is the best we ever had."

Parady led Marist to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League title in 1994 and shared crowns in 2006 and 2007. Twelve of his 14 teams that competed in the MAAC posted winning league marks, finishing runner-up three times (2002, 2004, 2005) and third seven times (1995-2000, 2003). The MAACFL dissolved following 2007 with only two remaining teams, and Marist gained membership in the PFL in spring 2008, but had to play one more season as an independent.

The evolution of the Marist physical plant has been enormous. The expansion of the McCann Center in 1997 brought in state-of-the-art fitness equipment for training. Long-time home, Leonidoff Field, was battered and bruised over the years and soggy with every rainstorm — a face-lift in 2007 led to new field turf and a half-stadium structure that allows for nearly 1,800 grandstand seats, raising total capacity to nearly 5,000.

"We had to find a league and we needed to upgrade our facilities, and we did both of those things," Parady said.

Now that Marist has gone national, so too has its recruiting efforts. Parady said a typical start list might have 3,000 names, double the old base which was more regional in approach. The primary target remains kids within an hour or so traveling distance from Poughkeepsie, but Parady has assigned coaches to recruit in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and the Atlanta area.

Is Marist getting better football players? "If you look at a kid athletically, I would say yes,'' Parady said. "These kids are a couple inches taller, a little faster, a little stronger than what we've been able to bring in the past. Will it pan out and will they become great football players? That remains to be seen.''

The program came from humble beginnings. Ron Levine, a Poughkeepsie attorney, was the mastermind behind the Marist club program, known as the Vikings, for its first 13 seasons. With student association funding barely topping $4,000 in the early 1970s, Marist posted unbeaten regular seasons in 1970 and 1972, falling in the national club football title game to St. John's (8-0) and Seton Hall (20-18), respectively.

"It was the '60s at the peak,'' Levine said. "One of the positive things about the '60s was the active involvement of college kids — as long as they weren't doing something to tear the country down, they applied the same diligence and same excitement and same spirit and adventure to whatever they did. Club football was one of those adventures.''

Levine said Marist was able to attract quite a few players who were good enough to play Division I. Two Poughkeepsie products, running back Nigel Davis and quarterback Ed Barnett, had transferred back to the mid-Hudson from other schools to run the triple option. Davis would become the leading club rusher in the nation.

Over 13 club seasons, Marist's record was 59-31-3.

Mike Malet took over the program in 1978 as Marist made the move to varsity status in NCAA Division III. The high-water mark — and only winning season — was a 6-3 campaign in 1985. Rick Pardy took over in 1989, producing records of 5-5-1, 7-2-1 and 6-4, winning the Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference in 1990.

Two Section 9 high school products made their marks in the Marist record books. Washingtonville graduate Jim Daley ranks third in career passing attempts, completions and yards (2,222) during his four-year career (1994-97). Delaware Valley grad Fred Ruillano is third in career rushing attempts (609) and fourth in yards (2,695) during his career (2000-03).

Marist athletics director Tim Murray said it will take a bit of time for Red Fox fans to get acclimated to new opponents and warm up to new rivalries.

"I feel very comfortable that we will acclimate to this league quickly, and we will get more interest,'' Murray said.

Like Parady, Levine believes Marist has all the pieces in place to jump-start the program and raise the level of enthusiasm for the program.

"This stadium answers all those questions,'' said Levine, who felt the old facility set back recruiting efforts for the better part of two decades. "Now that they've got it, they can make their place in the community, no trouble at all.''